Amazon eyes TI OMAP business

Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported on Monday that Amazon.com Inc. is apparently in advanced talks to buy Texas Instruments processor divison. This Amazon choice does not come as a surprise considering that TI OMAP is the same chip found inside the old Kindle Fire tablet and the new Kindle Fire HD. Texas Instruments also recently announced that smartphone and tablet market has become a less attractive long-term opportunity for TI OMAP and has refocused it at embedded applications.

The report noted that this deal could put Amazon as a direct rival to Apple and Samsung Electronics and give them an ability to design their own chips. The original report noted that TI OMAP business would probably be worth billions of dollars. According to Deutche Bank analyst Ross Seymore, TI's OMAP business should generate around US $650 million of revenue this year, so based on that number, the business could sell for US $500 to US $700 million. Of course, the other way around is to value the TI OMAP part based on the estimate of potential future sales volumes.

Of course, Amazon and Texas Instruments are both tight lipped on the subject. There has been a load of rumors regarding Amazon smartphone and, although Amazon did not confirm any of those rumors, where there is smoke there is at least an ember. It is pretty clear that Amazon at least has some interest in that part of the market.